Who's This Season Philadelphia 76ers

Who is this team's Philly 76ers? The team who has made moves but will end up being disappointing

My Western Pick: Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks have added Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden and resigned Jason Kidd. I seen people look at the Mavs as a 50 win team who can do damage in the playoffs. I think the Mavs will struggle in the West and be a bottom team who will probably fight with a team like Golden State and even a young OKC team for playoff positioning.

My Eastern Pick: Toronto Raptors. I have 2 reasons why:

Not alot of Rebounders- Other then Chris Bosh and Reggie Evans, this team has no grit. They have no rugged players. They have many scorers but not alot of "Hustle" players. Maybe if you can add who can jump into the crowd for loose balls, take a hit in the eye for a rebound...i might like this team

Chris Bosh and Toronto's organization are going the opposite way- Chris Bosh is gaining wieght to play in a run-in-gun offense? Wow. I think Bosh will either mentally check out or will be traded. If he checks out, kiss the extension signing goodbye. If you decide to trade him, you must get a 1st rounder, a grit player and a contributor as a scorer

I like both your picks particularly the Raptors...I see alot of people saying they will be an elite team in the East but I don't see it...I also think the Wizards are destined to dissapoint again, the core is back and healthy, but this core has never proven they can advance farther then the 2nd round in the playoffs....For the West, I see the Nuggets taking a step back due improvements from Spurs and Trailblazers....I think the Mavs will win their first series but thats about it unless they get a favorable matchup

I've said it once and I'll say it again...only 5 teams have a legitimate chance of winning the Finals

i can definitely see the potential for Toronto to be a dissapointment and struggle to even make the playoffs. I'm not predicting it, but i wouldn't be surprised. But i really like what dallas has done. they should cruise into the playoffs no problem.

my western candidate might be Phoenix. I think there is a legit chance that the rest of the west pulls away from them and it looks apparent that it is time to blow it up. But they didn't make too many moves this offseason other then Frye and resigning nash and hill.

My West Pick: L.A. they have added Artest, they have the talent in excess, so everything but a championship would be disappointing season right? There are many ? with this team, sure they have all the pieces, but we will have to wait and see.

My East Pick: I have 2 of them, the Pistons and the Celtics, The Pistons made moves to get better, but this team is on its last toe, They have to remake the whole roster, the offseason accusitions/trades were a start that said this season will be a nightmare for Piston fans, and the C's anything besides a title would be a let down for them also, They are loaded with talent, mostly old, and they accuired Rasheed. I don't know if this was the right move for them though, another aging bigman who hasn't played up-to his abilities can take him since early in his career, I don't think sitting Big Baby or Perk for Rasheed is a good move honestly, and their not getting better with age.

here read this it's and article from my man Keith Langlois from pistons.com

Pistons come out winners in Summer of LeBron

Now that the Utah Jazz have made clear their intentions to match Portland’s offer sheet to Paul Millsap – and matching it means they hand over a check for $10.3 million to Millsap this weekend – prepare for another barrage of Carlos Boozer rumors.

But don’t put any stock in them. The Boozer ship has sailed.

Two reasons for that. The first comes on Utah’s end. The Jazz are looking to trade Boozer, but any trade has to accomplish Utah’s primary objective: cutting the Jazz’s tax liability now that they’ve matched on Millsap.

As it stands, the Jazz are going to be paying $10 million or so in luxury tax. They’re not interested in swapping Boozer’s big contract for another – and in the case of the Pistons, the only two players who fit that contract slot are Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince. On a talent-for-talent basis, either trade passes the test. But it doesn’t pull Utah out of its tax mess.

The second is on Detroit’s end. Even if Joe Dumars were interested in trading one or the other, Prince or Hamilton, for Boozer, he’s not interested in meeting Boozer’s asking price. Which means Boozer would be a free agent next summer. If the cap weren’t coming down so drastically, that might not be a bad thing. It would give Dumars a big chunk of money to chase a free agent of comparable stature.

But if the cap comes down as the NBA projects, combined with the annual incremental raises due for players like Prince (or Hamilton), Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, the Pistons’ payroll – even without Boozer’s deal on the books – would leave them with something roughly equivalent to the mid-level exception. They’ll have that anyway.

And that’s the type of scenario teams across the league are now considering – much less appealing scenarios than they had envisioned through all their cap machinations.

So remember all the talk about the Summer of LeBron? Yeah, well, it just took place. The big news was the Pistons signing Gordon and Villanueva. Next summer, when the calendar tells us 2010 has arrived, we’ll all look back at the Gordon and Villanueva signings and appreciate how prescient the Pistons were to jump in with both feet this summer instead.

As many as half of the NBA’s 30 teams were trying to clear $15 million or more under the salary cap next summer to put themselves in play for the handful of elite free agents who’ll hit the market. They include the familiar names: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce and now, too, Boozer, who surprisingly chose not to opt out of the final year of his deal.

Or not so surprising, given the market. Boozer will make $12.7 million next season. His agent, Rob Pelinka, reportedly was telling teams he wanted a contract that averaged at least $14 million over five years. Nobody was going to pay that, especially given Boozer’s spotty injury history. Very good player, but a cut below superstar, asking for superstar money in the worst economy the NBA has seen since the NBA became, well, the NBA – the David Stern, Magic-Larry-Michael era NBA.

Now many of those teams projecting $15 million in cap space next summer might have, essentially, a mid-level exception contract to offer, given the NBA’s projection that the cap will fall precipitously next July, perhaps to $50 million from its current $57.7.

And that’s going to put the Pistons in great position next summer. Why? Because all those teams clearing cap space will have done so at a cost. They’ll have shed useful players and passed on others that could have filled out a solid nucleus.

The vast majority of those stars that dot the marquee of the Summer of LeBron are going to re-sign with their original teams. Chris Bosh might have eyes for his native Texas and there’s a slim possibility Wade will make good on his flirtation with his hometown Chicago Bulls, but other than that?

Most of the teams clearing space for 2010 were going to wind up disappointed, anyway, because there sure weren’t going to be 15 players worth max money on the market. Now? At least a dozen are going to wish they had an option remotely as attractive as coming away with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.

But here’s where it really gets good for the Pistons. While other teams might have pared down to six or seven players under contract to clear their cap space, the Pistons are going into next season with a deep roster already, and Joe D hasn’t yet signed the two veteran free-agent big men he expects to still add – both of them, more than likely, to short-term deals. They’re going to look a lot more attractive to a free agent with a skill that fits the Pistons’ needs, whatever that might be a year from now, than so many of those teams that depleted themselves hoping to be saved by a superstar.

The Pistons are four deep in the backcourt – Gordon, Hamilton, Stuckey and Will Bynum – and the three June draft choices have all given them reason to believe with their play in the Las Vegas Summer League that they can offer immediate help in one area or another.

With the 12 players currently looking at roster spots – Gordon, Hamilton, Stuckey, Bynum, Villanueva, Prince, Jason Maxiell, Kwame Brown, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and Deron Washington – the Pistons have an average age of 24½ . Think about that. They’ve gone from one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest in a few months.

That gives Joe D tremendous roster flexibility. The way it looks, he’ll go into next summer without any particular critical need, meaning he’ll be able to target the best player and the best personality fit for the Pistons instead of looking for the best shooter or best rebounder or best shot-blocker on the market.

And armed with his mid-level exception – which the Pistons did not have available this season, because teams either have cap space or exceptions, not both – he’ll be looking at potentially getting a real bargain. Remember, it’s turned into a buyer’s market. Teams were clearing cap space for 2010 because so many players were destined to hit free agency then. Now they’re going to hit free agency with far fewer teams having appreciable cap space and far fewer inclined to spend in any case.

Bottom line, an attractive young team with a healthy salary structure is going to be lining up for the Summer of LeBron against a field with a few sprinters and many other suddenly wheezing competitors.

If there is a Western Conference Champion sleeper, I pick the Dallas Mavericks... They have a solid core and The Matrix can help boost this team...

My picks:

WEST
The Phoenix Suns... Steve Nash has lost a step and is no longer the 2005 MVP he once was... Amar'e maybe back healthy but could still not see any improvement on his defense. Channing Frye is going to be a solid pro with the Suns but I think the Suns will not be scary as it once was... You gotta thank Steve Kerr for ruining their system...

EAST
People are gonna hate me on this but I think the Orlando Magic could prove to be disappointing this season. A trip to the Finals? A big possibility... A failure to do so? It will be disappointing... I love VC and I think he is a great acquisition but Carter has that tendency to melt down when the playoffs are at stake... It could be worth looking at again.. On paper, they are indeed strong... But we have yet to see what they can do now... Dwight is getting better every season and he will be the MAIN reason why Orlando is contending...

I see a New Orleans-like scenario for the Magic... CP3 had an MVP year last 2008 and the Hornets were simply unstoppable... 2009, where people expected them to go higher, they crumbled and was embarassed by the Nuggets in the first round...

detroit bad boy- I agree with the pistons spending money now instead of waiting, however they didn't answer their main needs (Post presence). I think the biggest mistake was giving RIp that huge extension (4 years and 48 million remaining). He is not a franchise player. He was great when he was one of 5 guys that could all be considered the best player, but not as the main man.

But I could certainly be wrong about them and we will find out soon enough if the current roster is a playoff team or not. Because if it isn't, I highly doubt that mid level exception next summer is enough to push them back to the top.

those r the rotation guys.. I think philyl over achieved with what they had.. Team is much better this season IMO.. I expect them to be better.. Added kapono, Carney, and got potential steal in draft in Holiday. (speights more mature, Lou gets chancve to run show, and Smith (promising b4 injury) is healthy. Just my opinion, i never thought philly was a contender based on last yr.